What is Whole-Life Wellness?
Traditional wellness training programs are either (1) intended to temporarily motivate you to feel hopeful or (2) focused on “mental health” awareness. Taking a whole-life approach means flipping the script away from a deficit model and prioritizing the whole person. Navigating Adversity builds healthy individuals who reflect a thriving organizational culture.
The whole-person is much more than physical acumen. Indeed, every aspect of the human experience is reflected in the ways we prioritize our emotional wellbeing, our financial stewardship, our social engagement, the trajectory of our professionalism, our cognitive awareness, and our spiritual connectivity to purpose. Each of the eight dimensions of what it means to be a happy, healthy human work in unison to fill the stores of wellness capital we need to thrive.
When one of the dimensions is ignored and we are faced with a situation impact in, our bodies draw resources from the other seven to get the job done. For example, when we enter into a social situation that makes us uncomfortable and we haven’t done enough to build social capital, we have to pull stored capital from our emotional, professional, and psychological tanks to meet the immediate need. When that happens, we walk away from the crowd feeling exhausted.
Any “wellness” program that only provides for one or two types of wellness capital, most frequently physical and emotional, is leaving out six essential elements. Not terribly bad considering the attitude we’ve traditionally taken about self-care, but certainly not an investment in wellness capital…and the short-term results felt by the minimalist approach proves the point.
Navigating Adversity is the only whole-person wellness training program that builds all eight dimensions of capital from a positive perspective. Yes, this learning experience has proven itself to be a preventative and a healing mechanism of depression, anxiety, organizational and occupational stress, post-traumatic stress injury, broken relationships, and risky behaviors but we believe one of the reasons it works as an inoculator is because we intentionally build people up in every dimensions possible. The natural outcome is an internal source of strength that comes to our defense when adversity strikes.
The other reasons it works so well?
It was created to be learned in the comfort of a safe space, whether at work or home. Virtual learning has opened our minds up to the ability to embrace therapeutic resources without the fear of public vulnerability.
The guides who provide feedback and encouragement on the journey have been in the darkest places that crisis can take us and have the intentional grit to overcome it. They’re not afraid to share their stories so that no one walks alone. Confidentiality is paramount.
Every learning path is unique to each person’s most immediate need. At the onset of training, each person completes a questionnaire which is translated into an Individual Wellness Scorecard. By measuring how much capital already exists in each dimensions, we know where to begin the training for an early win and continue the journey adding positive tools along the way. About 30 days after training ends, another questionnaire measures growth which provides a data-driven snapshot of the impact that prioritizing self-care has actually had. This way, we don’t just help people feel better, we show they why they feel better so they keep investing in themselves.
And for the organization? We provide an anonymized scorecard that clarifies exactly what kind of future investments need made to continue prioritizing your people. After all, why put money into a physical gym when what your workforce really needs is some financial peace? Data-driven decisions are quantifiable and appreciated by cities council, mayors, and the citizens with budgetary oversight.
The whole-person approach is an investment. Anything less is just an expense.
Dr. T